research

We looked at the main diffrent generes which we felt we would be interested in doing theese were
-horror
-action
-thriller
-comedy

We did research into all theese diffrent genres by using the internet and watching films from the style of genre. we did this because we felt that if we had a good level of understanding about each genre then we could make a good informed decision about what sort of conventions and representation that we could use to keep in line with our chosen genre. The first key thing that i noticed was that There is a very small line between the diffrent generes and there are very often more than one style in a movie for example a comedy and romatic films can come together and this is known as a rom/com suchas the break up or you can have an action/thriller movie suchas Predator.

Horror
Horror films are desighned to prey on our worst fears whether they be monsters, psychopaths or the unknown. They very often use a combination of quick and slow paced editing that is desighned to create both suspense and terror. they also very often use a mixture of camera angels to represent diffrent things for example they may use a high angle shot fused together with a tracking shot to give the impression of someone being stalked. This is evident in the first horror film which i researched which was shrooms. The first thing that i realised about the genre of horror films was that there are very distinct styles of horror films. They are either very bloody and violent and rely on a shock an aw tactic by using a variety of special groosom effects and make up suchas the saw movies. Or there are the ones which use the power of the human mind to imagine and theese kinds of movies only imply or suggest the horror in subtle ways, rather than blatantly displaying it, i.e., Val Lewton's horror films, by using clever script writing and planning and a clever combination of editing, camera angels and representation. However both styles rely on the audience being shocked by what they see and frigthened and disgusted.







Horror film 1-Shrooms



i decided to watch this film because I felt that it was easy to identify the diffrent techniques the director Paddy Breathenach has used to make sure the film falls under the catergory of horror.
The plot is that three american couples travel to Ireland to gather shrooms and have a psychodelic trip but when one of the girls eats a bad Shroom she begins to see things and it ends up with a lone survivor with the rest getting massacred. I noticed in this film that the director uses camera shots and editing to represent what he wants to portray to the audience and he uses shots which scares us because they represent our fears of being stalked and the audience can pick up on this and relate to the fear.







This told me that if we decided to do a horror style film then we would have to use this same representation to portray that it is a horror to the audience. This film was useful because it showed me how a quick edit can instill shock into the audience and a slow edit can instill suspense that allows the fear to manifest.







Horror film 2- Saw 5



i decided to watch this film because I knew from the previouse saw 4 that it heavily relied on the use of special effects and make up and felt that it was give us a good impression of what is expected in a horror. Directed by David Hackl the basic plot is Following Jigsaw's grisly demise ( the main bad guy from the other films), his apprentice to the serial killer is deigned a hero. Meanwhile, Agent Strahm is tested and follows all the leads he can get until it boils down to a gruesome and bone-crushing finale.








The main things that i noticed was the way in which the director used diffrent camera shots to portray things, suchas when he wished to show violence he got close and personal using close up shots and when he wished to show the victims dispare he used long and mid ranged shots. This was very helpful to me because it gave me an idea of how we could portray violence and aggression by the use of camera angles It was also useful because it showed me the level of violence that would be exspected if we decided to do a horror style movie.







This research was very useful because it showed me the ways in which diffrent directors used diffrent styles of filming and editing to portray diffrent things but still keep within the conventions of a horror film, the research also showed me what the conventions of a horror film are. The main conventions are Blood, Violence, in human actions and things desighned to scare and shock the audience. the research also showed me how you can use visual effects suchas makeup to portray thing to the the audience and the way in which sounds can be use to create diffrent feelings.The research also helped me because it definatly aided us in our decision not to choice a horror because we felt that we the constrictions of time and also our ability to acuratly portary the film to feet in line with the conventions of a horror film.







Action



Action films are desighned to get our blood pumping and heart racing, they use a fast style of editing to portray speed and keep the audience on the edge of their seats and use a variety of camera angles and shots to portray things to the audience. A good example of this is the film The italian job which i watched. The director uses faced, short editing along with a mixture of tracking shots to show how fast the cars are moving. I noticed that unlike horror films action films always envovle this kind of fast and aggresive camera work. They are also very often intwined with other generes suchas romance like the second film i watched which was Sharpes sword which although is filled with action it also has a love story intwined in it.







Action film1-the italian job



I watched this film because i felt that it would give me a good idea of what a main line action film envoled. The plot of the film is that a group of thieves steal some gold but are betrayed by their friend so they attempted to steal it back. A key thing that i noticed in this film is how the director uses a mixture of close ups of actors to almost put the audience in the passanger seat while using quick editing and tracking shots to keep up the pace of the scene.






This film was very useful because it gave me an idea of the diffrent techniques that we could use to portray speed and action, it showed me what an audience exspects from an action film and it also aided us in our decision not ot do an action style film because of the amount od media devices that we required and it was feklt that it was not plursable with the time constrictions we had.







Action film2- Sharpes sword



The reason i watched this film is because i knew that although it was an action film it had a lot of sub generes mixed in with it suchas it was also a period drama. The plot of the film is that Richard Sharpe a rifleman captain in wellingtons army is sent to attack a french fort but is betrayed by a fellow officer so he trys to get revenge culminating a personal battle between him and his betrayer.






In this film i noticed how the director uses wide and long shots to represent the scale of the battle while throwing in close ups to show the ferocity of the fighting. The film was very useful because it showed me how we ccould use a mixture of shots to captivate the audience and keep their attention.





This research was very helpful because it helped me identify the conventions of an action film which are fast paced editing, a mixture of shots to captivate the audience and a good well planned story which is easy to understand. It was also very hekpful because it led to the decision that because of the large amounts of media devices we needed to use it was just not possible to acuratly portray the film so that it fell under the genere of action.



Comedy



whether its based on basic everyday occurences or extreme situation it is purely desighned for the sole reason which is to make us laugh, They use a range of diffrent camera angles and shots normaly desighned to connect the audience with the character, they do this so that the audience finds what happens more funny because they feel that they know the actor. They also use a mixture of editing speeds either to amplifie a siuation or to make it seem like reallife and the audience picks up on this. A key thing i noticed is how humour and the way it is portrayed has changed over the years a good example of this is the contrast between the movies i watched and researched which were laurel and hardy(Beau Hunks) and Scary Movie 3 for example in Laurel and Hardy it is based around everday things that could happen and this is funny because we relate to it where as scary movie 3 envovles unbelivable events.



comedy film1- laurel and hardy Beau Hunks

I watched this film because i felt that it would be a good contrast between an old black and white film a new film. The basic plot is Oliver Hardy is dumped by his girlfriend and runs off with his friend stan laurel to join the foreighn legion and the movie is just about what funny incidented they cause.

A key thing i noticed about this film was the way in which the actors relied on each other because without both of them it would not be as funny. I also noticed how the director uses a number of diffrent camera techniques suchas close ups to connect with the audience and also the use of props and the setting to portray normal life suchas it starts in a house. This movie was useful because it gave me an idea of how directors use to portray thing because they did not have the technology we have.

Comedy film 2- scary movie 3

There were several reasons why i watched this film. The first was that I knew it was part of a new kind of movie that used other movies to create it for example it takes the micky out of 8 mile which is a seriouse film and it adapts events in it so it becomes funny. Another key reason i watched and researched this movie was because i hoped that it woukd show me how to adapt other movies to fit into the genre and conventions of comedy and i felt that this would be very useful. In the third installment of the Scary Movie franchise, Cindy has to investigate mysterious crop circles and video tapes, and help the President in preventing an alien invasion.

I




noticed in this film that the director has taken alot of other movies and has incorperated it into a new movie alltogether, i also noticed how he has used diffrent camera angles and shots to turn normal movie sequences into funny movie sequences for example he will use a close up to turn a normal event into something funny suchas a women bending over.

This research was very useful because it showed me how i coukd use camera angels and editing to change ordinary curcumstances into something funny for example using a close up to exagerate something so it becaome funny. It also showed me how the use of sound effects and facial actions can portray things. It was also useful because it showed me how to adapt current movie ideas into something new and change the genre that the movie falls under. The reasearch was also key in the fact that we decided not to do a comedy because we felt that we did not have the ability to accuratley portray to the audience the conventions of a comedy.

Thriller

Thriller films are desighned to encapulate the audience into the film by using a range of camera shots and editing speeds. A key thing that i noticed about the thriller films i watched and researched are that they very often incorperate styles from other generes of films for example there is some time a very thin line between an action film and a thriller film or between a thriller film and horror film. This is because a thriller film relise on fast paced editing like a action films do but also camera shots that create tension like horror films do. Another key thing that i noticed was that in a thriller style film there is always a main character normally a hero and a director will work very hard to make sure that the audience recognises this and connects with the main character and this makes the audience more interested in what happens to him or her.

thriller film 1- Pulp fiction

The reason why i watched this film was because i knew that it incorperated all the diffrent styles and generes of films. For example it has the thriler side to it in the fact that everyones after each other, the comical side of how it finishes, the action side with all the fighting and the love story between two of the actors. the main plot is about The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.

The first thing which i noticed about this film was the way in which the editor portaryed diffrent stories of diffrent people he did this by using diffrent paced editing and the same shots of different people to connect them. This was very helpful because it showed me the diffrent techniques that i can use to connect diffrent characters and stories together and also what sort of editing techniques i could use to achieve a good thriller. I also noticed how the movie has all the diffrent generes rolled up together but how the director has made them work together to create a thriller movie

Thriller film 2- Godfather

The reason that i watched this movie because i knew that it would further give me ideas of how to use camera and editing techniques to put all the genres together. The movie is a good example of how there is no real barrier between the diffrent generes because you could interpret it in diffrent ways, you can see how it is an action film because of the fight scenes and fast editing with a variety of shots, you can see it has a romatic side to it because of the way that the music and speed of editing changes when diffrent actors are envolved.

This film was very useful because it further showed me how all the diffrent generes can be put together and how to use camera techniques sound and editing to make a film that flows.

This research was very useful because it had a great impact on our decision to do a thriller style movie, we chose a thriller because we felt that having the ability to incorperate large number of diffrent generes into out film clip would give us a large pool of ideas that we could use and we also felt that it would give us the chance to use a large number of media devices, techniques, camera shots and diffrent paced editing.

We also briefly researched sub generes which are identifiable sub-classes of the larger category of main film generes with their own distinctive subject matter, style, formulas, and iconography. Some are them are prominent sub-genres, such as: biopics, 'chick' flicks, detective/mystery films, disaster films, fantasy films, film noir, 'guy' films, melodramas, road films, romances, sports films, supernatural films, and thriller/suspense films.